Off Topic Cowboy Stuff

Another fantastic post, Dave! It’s so fun to get a glimpse into your world.

Thanks for writing up the translation for GT. I was lost, too. :)
 
Wonderful stuff. I didn't realize the intricacies of calf roping, thank you for taking the time to explain it in detail!

I also enjoyed the different sheaths and knives!
 
Thanks WhittlinAway WhittlinAway Ya bet. I forget sometimes and delve into cowboyese.

Thanks glennbad glennbad Just got to put the finish on the batch of sheaths this morning that is going and then start packing. Couple of the travel bags and the Tapaderos I was gonna make and take kicked my butt last night Got three travel bags done and the taps ain't happening.
 
When I grow up, I want to be a cowboy. I'm 55 now and looking at 10 more years before retirement, maybe then.
 
Love these threads you post Horsewright Horsewright !
Great stuff, I share these with my boss, who's been life long horse addict lol. She's only got 2 now, mostly retired enjoying lots pasture time. As usual these post bring back memories for me. Once while in high school a good friends family took a trip to New Mexico to buy some horses. (They were breeders) Anyways he came back with stars in his eyes talking about "REAL" cowboys wearing Amish hats.(His words) being east coast farmboys we hadn't yet heard of the Buckaroo tradition. Makes this farmboy happy to see traditions being kept alive and well:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
When I grow up, I want to be a cowboy.

I said that in a job interview a couple years back. Didn't get the job.

Grew up in the back canyons of L.A. County with horses, dogs, and every other kind of critter we could drag home. My grand dad was a Montana cowboy and I remember him telling us we'd be glad to get rid of the boots and move to moccasins one day. He was right. Still have a Stetson though; it comes in handy in these PNW rains.
 
Good deal JohnDF JohnDF ! Seems like its always the third weekend of Oct. There's a website too Brannaman Pro Am but they aren't super great at keeping parts of it updated. For instance the Vendor list is from 2014 or something. This is our fourth year as a vendor and still haven't made the vendors list. However they do keep the dates updated and sign ups is a happening deal. This thing fills up in about 4 or 5 minutes after opening. I had the form all filled out and watched the clock and kept hitting the submit button. Took right at the time and bam got in.

@5K Qs Ya bet. Yes she is wanting to get the rope around both hind feet and have it tight. So here I've just thrown a Hip Shot. This loop ends up similar to the Del Viento in that the top strand of the loop is over the cows hip on its right side and the bottom strand has passed through in front of both hind feet. Difference is that the Hip Shot is thrown from the cow's right side and not the left side like the Del Viento and it doesn't turn over. It too is a pretty difficult shot and is worth 9 points. Often when the rope settles on the cow it will startle it forward and the hind legs can jump into the loop. Or sometimes the cow can already be moving and it will step into a well placed loop. With the cow hanging back like in this pic its probable its not gonna jump so then the header will have to drag it forward into the loop. Dragging is the least favorite because the back toes don't move sometimes and they'll slide under that bottom strand instead of stepping into it. That'll screw up a perfectly good heel shot. We call it being "robbed". One advantage of the Hip Shot over all other heel shots is thrown very well, it will not only go in front of the back feet but continue to wrap around the hind legs due to momentum. It can literally be thrown so that no matter which direction the cow jumps it can step into that heel loop. Another great advantage is that it can be thrown at a distance whereas other shots might require you to be closer, something the cow may not agree upon.

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Nichole has made a heel shot and only came up with one. It happens a lot. We're move to 180 degrees or opposite each other. So that our ground crew can tail this one down. A wise man (me) once said catching the cow is the easy part its the handling of the cow after that is the tricky part and this is so.

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So here Logan has taken the neck rope off and put it around both front feet. Its important to oift up on the bottom foot when doing so as this crosses the feet and helps the rope to stay on. Here he is giving Katy his wife a little coaching on the handling of the horse and where she should be on him. Even though Katy grew up in big ranching country in eastern Oregon, she was a townie and had never even ridden a horse much till she got together with Logan. Now she's getting pretty handy. They are heading back to this area today after running a summer camp in Oregon for a ranch nearby here. 25,000 acres and 600 head, just the two of them. These shots were before they left in early August. So after he's done helping Katy he'll take the rope off of the hind leg and stick it on both crossing them too. Stardling the cow like this prevents her from kicking him (his left shin is up against that leg pushing it back so she can't kick). There's lots of ways of doing this but this eems to work best for us cause its also easy to reach the loop when ya need to.

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So here I'm doing the same thing. Logan has the head and Nichole the heels.

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Some old guy at the Pro Am a couple of years ago throwing that Hoolihan.

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Dallying around the horn to slow the cow to a stop. Wes our Pro is moving into position. There are 20 "Pros", very famous and experienced cowboys picked as a pro by Buck Brannnaman since its his gig. I'd never met Wes before (Thursday evening names of the pros are drawn out of a hat for each team. No shortage of hats by the way in this outfit. Turned out Wes is a long time customer. I've made him four or five knives over the years and two pairs of leggings. In fact Wes had just gotten married and his father in law had ordered matching knives and sheaths with the wedding date on the back of the sheath for the couple. Now we're roping together.

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So then I'll come out at the trot and Wes will take a shot. Having that front leg in the head loop in our deal is looked upon as a good thing as ya can't really choke the cow too much, it can breathe. Other types of ropings that can be a disqualified shot. See told ya we were different. Once the cow is headed the other team members do not have to worry about the rodear line anymore and the other cattle can cross it without losing any points.

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My other partner Janine got down and did the groundwork. When she stands up time is over. Plus 9 points if done under a minute and a half. Plus 6 if under 2 minutes, plus 3 if under 3 minutes and no time if over 4 minutes.

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Each member of the team must head once in the three goes so that means the old guy can't use his hoolihan anymore as its mostly a head shot. Got some other shots though, here is a sidearm.

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While we didn't make the finals (5 points out) I was pretty happy as I roped well and never had to get down to do the groundwork cause I didn't miss. Especially since I was just recovering from a double hernia surgery about four months prior.

It was also mentioned that no rubber was allowed on the saddle horns. Slick horns only. This pic shows my slick horn. Its wrapped in a horn wrap (another item we make and sell). We allow the rope to run around the horn acting more as a clutch then a brake. We keep adding wraps or dallies until the friction is great enough that it slows the cow to a stop. Rubber on the horn is a brake right now and many ropers that use rubber will only take half a dally whereas I might have 4 or 5 depending on the weight of the cow. Many ranch roping ropes are poly as is mine here. They can get really hot running around the horn or through your hand when you are going to the horn, thats why the roping glove. These horn wraps take a lot of wear and tear and get worn/burnt through which is why they are replaceable.

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Most team roping ropes are 28 to 30 feet in length. Rules here state that our ropes must be at least 50 ft in length. Mine is 60. Nichole carries 50 as it fits better in her smaller hand. This longer rope adds a whole nuther dimension to the space time continuum. Our good friend, who is roping in this for the first time is struggling with the the longer rope even though he is a very experienced roper with the shorter ones. Bout it I guess.

Wow! Thanks for posting these Dave, I've always really enjoyed your posts re: your lifestyle. They always come across as the "true" America :thumbsup: I briefly saw these the other night and have just come back to it so thank you for the explanation of how it all works as when I first read it, it was like trying to decipher a foreign language :D. There amazing posts of a truely different, and better, world. :thumbsup:
Please keep them coming. :thumbsup:
 
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